Crossbikes: The latest from PDX

From bikeportland.org:
Say hello to “crossbikes” — Portland’s latest bikeway innovation for bikes.
If you see one, don’t fret. Treat them exactly like they sound: sort of like crosswalks, but for bikes. The Portland Bureau of Transportation is set to officially announce the new treatment tomorrow with an educational push (see new sign below) similar to the one they did around bike boxes in 2008.

Roger Geller, PBOT’s chief bicycle planner, said it’s just the latest effort the bureau has undertaken to make crossings safer on what are designed to be low-stress, family-friendly streets where people on bikes and foot are prioritized.
Geller said it’s an idea he’s be working on for several years (we posted a Q & A with him about crossbikes back in 2011) and it came from how he observed people using curb extensions — where curbs are bulbed out in order to narrow the crossing distance. …
“We we wanted to indicate that these intersections aren’t just pedestrian crossings, these are also bike crossings,” Geller added. “The green bike bars indicate this is an extension of the bikeway thru the intersection.”

I suspect Portlands will not work well. For drivers, they are too visually similar to just a crosswalk especially in poor lighting conditions. Not sure why they just didn’t make them light we do in Vancouver.